


Kind Of A Cool, Ironic Twist

by MyEnglishRose



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Animal!Sides, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Needs a Hug, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Making Up, Post-Episode: Flirting with Social Anxiety, Post-Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides, if you squint there's a hint of the other roman pairings because he deserves all the love, only for like two paragraphs though, this is mostly roceit, this makes sense if you read this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27301276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyEnglishRose/pseuds/MyEnglishRose
Summary: Janus did not mean for this to happen. He just wanted to talk with Roman. Talk this out. But he knew the prince wouldn’t want to talk if he came to him. So he ended up pretending to be a snake to get close to Roman in the imagination. It’s another lie, it’s bad, he knows…But to be fair to him he did not expect Roman to be dense enough to not realise a yellow snake with a tiny top hat is him.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 17
Kudos: 122





	Kind Of A Cool, Ironic Twist

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda jumped in between tenses a lot at the beginning I’m sorry about that, I couldn’t decide apparently lol
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://loveliestroman.tumblr.com/)

It was a defence mechanism. When taken off-guard or in a position where he doesn’t have time to think about the best thing to do, Janus just tends to… _poof_ and transform into a snake so he could slide away faster than if he ran. In a similar way that Patton becomes a giant frog when distressed or that Virgil glows purple when he’s really happy, he guesses, though one scenario sounds more pleasant than the other.

So he didn’t mean for this to happen. He had planned everything all morning! Repeating in his head over and over again what he would tell Roman so they can finally settle this… uh, problem and move on and everything is all dandy again. He had been pushing it off too, if he has to be honest, arguing that Roman is also at fault and he should be the one to come to him first but then Remus quite literally slapped him back to his senses.

_“You broke my brother and toyed with his insecurity for months, that’s my job, you stole my job!”_

Which, admittedly, was a weird argument, but the first part of it made sense even though Janus would argue Roman’s insecurity wasn’t his doing in the first place so really it was the others’ fault— but he knew he’d get a mace thrown at his face.

That is how he finds himself wrapped around Roman’s shoulders as a snake as the prince just continues to walk around the imagination without any precipitation, changing things here and there to his liking.

As already said, that part wasn’t planned. When he first walked into the imagination, he was playing in his head the ideal scenario that would follow his apology, but as soon as he heard Roman approach — which was very easy because the prince somehow has a loud presence even when he doesn’t talk — he panicked, froze, turned into a snake but did not have the time to slither away before Roman found him and immediately grabbed him, not even flinching when Janus hissed.

The prince just stared with an amused smile. “Cute,” Roman said and Janus would have blushed if he could. “I don’t remember adding reptiles in this area, are you Remus’ creation? Oh maybe you’re just there since Thomas accepted Janus, huh, that would make sense with the lil hat. Well, let’s get you to the others.”

The others? Janus repeated in his head as he made himself comfortable around Roman’s shoulders.

Now, Janus knows what Roman meant by the others. As it turns out, once Thomas has stopped repressing a part of himself, they become a constant part of the imagination, in various forms. Well, animal forms.

Patton’s is a puppy with a froggy collar wrapped around his neck. Logan’s is a small owl that apparently loves to be perched on Roman’s head with light feathers forming some sort of glasses pattern around his eyes. Virgil’s is a black cat with a white thunder-like shape spot on his back. Remus’ is a dragon with black and green scales because of fucking course it is. Roman’s is a… dove, he thinks? He’s not sure. It is the only other animal there but the dove has no distinct sign that would associate it with Roman apart from the fact that as soon as Roman enters the area, the dove simply flies to his side and stays on the prince’s shoulder, forcing Janus to mostly wrap himself around Roman’s arm instead to avoid the bird’s feet scratching his scales.

“I’ll call you… Sunny! You’re all yellow with a round face, I think it fits,” Roman decides, scratching Janus’ head which makes the latter preen. “This is Goldie.” The puppy. “Berry.” The owl. “Storm.” The cat. “And Calamity. Remus chose himself, of course.” The dragon, then.

What about the dove, though? Janus can’t ask verbally so he simply tilts his head towards the bird still perched on Roman’s shoulder. Surprisingly, the prince seems more apt at understanding body language than actual words because he understands immediately.

“Oh, I don’t have a name for her. She’s supposed to be my animal but I can’t name her. She doesn’t really mind I think.” The dove makes a small noise, most likely in protest, Janus figures, but Roman ignores it.

He sits down, lowering his arm to the ground, allowing Janus to slide on the grass. Almost immediately, the cat — Storm — comes up to him, sniffing his scales, and then hisses. Janus flinches, hissing back, but Roman wastes no time and breaks up the fight, picking Storm up and scratching behind his ears as he lays him down on his laps. Storm settles down almost immediately, nuzzling Roman’s thigh before curling up in pure content.

“Huh, so even in animal forms you two don’t get along well,” Roman comments, prompting Janus to rub his scales together, eyes stuck on the cat’s sleeping form. “Hey, calm down, Storm will warm up to you eventually, don’t worry. He’s a lot more lenient than Virgil.” A moment of silence. “I’m quite curious to see how similar or different from Janus you are,” he muses and then he starts humming.

Janus simply lays down at that, finally letting his head rest on the ground as he listens to the prince’s melodic voice. He hasn’t heard him sing in a long while either which is weird. Roman used to burst into small songs almost at any given moments — while walking around the mind palace, cooking, writing, anything. He used to never be silent.

Now, silence is even more deafening when Roman is there but not vocal about it.

“The others have no idea about this place or that these animals even exist, I don’t know if it’s selfish, I just wanna keep them- _you all_ to myself,” Roman whispers after a while. “I know it’s not really them but it is a part of them. It’s easier to make them happy… _proud_. Gosh, I’m talking to myself again.”

As he says those words, the puppy and owl rush to his side. The little pupper yips happily while bumping Roman’s legs while the owl curls into a ball into Roman’s neck. The prince giggles and the sound makes Janus’ heart flutter.

He’s missed that sound.

But then, the prince’s eyes fall back on him. In no time he finds himself lifted off the ground again, gently cradled in Roman’s hands.

“You might be Janus’ creature but I won’t let you down, Sunny. You can’t really manipulate me anyway so I think it’s going to be easier.” Roman laughs self-deprecatingly but Janus lowers his head. The prince misinterprets it, though. “Oh you must be hungry, let’s feed you.”

-: ✧ :-

It goes on for a few weeks or so. Janus always sneaks away from the imagination once he is sure Roman is gone and now that he knows when the prince goes to see the animal sides, he makes sure to be there in advance so Roman wouldn’t suspect a thing.

It is bad, he knows. It’s technically a lie and if Roman learns about it, he is _fucked_. But he just can’t help it.

He has spent a lot of time with Roman prior to the whole wedding and call back fiasco and yet he never was able to see his soft, gentle and vulnerable side. A Roman so brutally honest about his own insecurities and feelings for once that Janus feels like he sees a whole different person while disguised as a snake. And it is a someone he knows he’ll never be able to see again if he revealed himself to be the very person that just… took advantage of this “weakness”.

Millions of scenarios play in his head at the idea of Roman finding out, all of them almost exclusively ending in catastrophe. He doesn’t want that. He also knows he’s lying to himself.

And Patton also makes sure that he knows that.

“You have to tell him!” Patton half-screams in a frantic panic. “He’s gonna— He’s gonna close off even more if you don’t!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Janus yells back. “Why does he have to be such an idiot and not connect the dots too,” he grumbles next, earning a glare from the moral side.

He has not told anyone about the messy situation he found himself in apart from Patton and Remus mostly because Remus caught him in the act and the Duke almost gave him away. He did not tell Patton about the animal sides though, knowing that Roman would hate him even more if he did. The animals are Roman’s safe space, bringing another side to them is most likely a bad idea, especially considering Patton is such an animal lover.

“If you don’t tell him, I will,” Patton insists. “It can’t go on, we can’t have you also disappear into the imagination for an extended amount of time.”

Oh, Janus hasn’t thought about that particular problem.

“My plan was to find a way to get him out of there at first but now that I know what’s keeping him there…”

“And what is it? You still haven’t told us.”

“I— I can’t really say that... he’s kept it secret for a reason.”

“Yet you’ve gone out of your way to discover it by lying your way into it,” Patton points out and Janus actually genuinely starts to feel awful upon hearing the accusatory and patronising tone in the moral side’s voice that is so unlike him.

“I’ll figure it out and I’ll fix it, _trust me_.”

It’s apparently the wrong thing to say because Patton takes a deep breath before raising his arm, Logan appearing next to him, taken off guard. Patton grounds him with hands on his shoulders before the logical side could stumble and fall.

“Deal with him before I lose it, I’ll try to talk to Roman.”

Logan only blinks as Patton storms off before staring at Janus with a bewildered look in his eyes.

“What did you do?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Janus laughs nervously. Logan shakes his head. “I might have accidentally tricked Roman into trusting me by pretending to be a literal snake. Turns out, he really likes animals too.”

For a short moment, Logan’s reaction is similar to Patton’s: pure stunned silence. Janus already braces himself once the logical side finally opens his mouth.

“That is very like you. And also very stupid.”

No yelling, Janus is actually pleasantly surprised.

“Anyone else other than Patton knows?” Logan asks.

“Remus. I suspect Virgil knows something, he’s been eyeing me more often and he and Roman have been spending a lot of time together since meeting Nico.”

Logan hums. “Anyway you’re screwed, I have no idea why Patton even called, every scenario I can think of Roman finding out doesn’t end up well, so, good luck, I just hope I won’t have to pick up the pieces again.” And then he smiles and just leaves.

Janus blinks.

Guess he really needs to figure it out and fix it now.

-: ✧ :-

Things come to an abrupt end a couple of days later.

“He knows!” Remus shouts, bursting through Janus’ door. “And I hope you’re good at avoiding shit thrown at your face.”

“You’ve done that enough, I’m not so scared anymore,” Janus replies automatically at first before the Duke’s sentence fully set on his mind. “What?!”

“Yeah so, funny story,” Remus starts, snapping his fingers to teleport himself on Janus’ bed, comfortably lying there immediately, “your actual animal showed up in the imagination, a black and yellow snake with a top hat too, super freaky she loves Calamity and Roman’s dove but she hates Storm and Berry. Goldie is afraid of her but he’ll probably get over it soon. Anyway! Yeah, Ro put two and two together surprisingly quick and he is fuming.”

“Why do you sound happy?!”

“Because it’s funny!” Remus freezes suddenly, gasping as he jumps on his feet again. “Oh, he’s coming, bye!”

“Remus—!”

The duke literally dips just as Janus hears the very recognisable clicking of Roman’s heels get closer and closer, on a rather slow, and frankly, dramatic pace, before the prince is finally standing at the door, a burning glare immediately landing on Janus.

“I— uh, I can explain!” the half-snake side tries, laughing nervously as Roman’s glare does not falter.

“Oh, can you?”

“It’s— complicated.”

“Is that so?” the prince indulges again, finally taking a step ahead, prompting Janus’ heart to spike up.

Without thinking he hisses, surprising — and confusing — Roman long enough for him to try to think but then he simply closes his eyes, praying his instincts will do the job and turn him into his snake form.

When he opens them again, he is eye-level with the floor, having an opening right between Roman’s legs for his door. He tries to slide away like he always does but then he finds himself lifted off the floor before he could escape. He hisses again, latching onto Roman’s hand and then staying there, taken off guard when the prince does not even flinch.

“Your words are venomous but you’re not actually venomous, you dingus,” Roman deadpans, looking at him dead in the eyes before Janus pulls away, shyly licking the small holes now there as if it would do anything. “And I’m the one who keeps running away? You can’t be that scared of me.”

Janus lowers his head as he tangles his body around Roman’s hand for some stability. Roman sighs.

“You can’t turn back on command?” Janus shakes his head. It usually takes a few hours. He is not sure why... probably the time it takes him to fully understand he is not in any danger, he guesses. “So this is Patton turning into a frog giant all over again but… less disturbing. And cuter.”

 _What?_ Janus wants to ask.

“The others know I assume so let’s just join them back in the living room. I might as well tell them about the animals before you hold it against me or something.” The sudden bitter tone slipping out of Roman’s words prompts Janus to make a sound of protest, that ended up sounding like a rattle.

Roman only sends him a disinterested look. Janus groans in his mind — he feels like they have somehow gone a hundred steps backwards.

-: ✧ :-

In a way, Janus guesses he had hoped that this place with the animals would stay in between the prince, the duke, and him and that the others would never know. Much like how prior to him revealing himself to Thomas, he and Roman would often meet up at the theatre of the mind palace and just act out whatever musical was stuck in Thomas’ head. He has missed that feeling of sharing something with Roman and he knows it is partly his fault for not communicating enough that not everything they’ve shared was _only_ to further his agenda with Thomas and the others… yet he still feels betrayed as he watches how effortlessly Patton, Logan and Virgil fit in that place, with the animals, with Roman’s safe space despite the obvious drift there has been lately between all of them.

He watches bitterly as Roman hugs Logan from behind as the latter admires Berry with wide, star-lit eyes and the owl just keeps turning his head in all angles just to make Logan smile. He watches bitterly as Virgil sits on Roman’s laps with Storm in his arms, cuddling up to the prince with a satisfied smile upon his lips and purple glowing eyeshadows because these two have just been closer than ever lately. He watches as Roman yells at Remus to stop messing up his hair by flying so close to the ground with Calamity. Then he watches with a hint of sorrow as Roman and Patton remain relatively distant though still friendly in their interactions as Roman presents Goldie to the moral side, the small puppy running in between their legs, unable to be tired. Despite the obvious awkwardness, Janus can see the love and appreciation still there.

A connection he cannot feel between himself and Roman because the foundation of their relationship was so feeble, to begin with.

Janus sighs just as he feels something bump his shoe. Looking down, he meets eyes with the black and yellow snake Remus told him about. He groans, looking away and really intending to just ignore her but she hisses, quickly wrapping herself around his ankle and then making her way to Janus’ shoulders.

“So you’re the one who blew my cover huh?” he snarls half-heartedly, quite softened by the cute reptile. “Do you have a name?”

“Can you understand her?” Janus jumps upon hearing Roman’s voice so close to him again. The prince wears now a small smile as he looks in between the snake and the side.

“No. I wonder if I just spit out swear words in snake language when I am one,” Janus wonders, managing to make the prince laugh softly. Roman’s guard is down with all the others around, it seems.

“I named her Mari, short for Marigold, the flower,” Roman says as he takes Mari away from Janus, petting her head instantly. “She’s a lot cuddlier than you but she also tried to bite Storm and Goldie a few times. She couldn’t get Berry because, you know, flying.”

“I’ve never seen Berry fly, actually?”

“Oh yeah he doesn’t like it, he’d rather stay perched on my shoulder like Blanche.”

“Blanche?”

“My dove.”

“You gave her a name, after all.”

“I did, figured I might as well. Quite rude to myself to not name the animal who’s actually me.”

“Any particular meaning?”

“Nah it just means ‘white’ in French but it sounds pretty enough.” A pause. “Let’s talk without you turning into a snake now, shall we?”

Janus sighs. “You brought them here knowing I wouldn’t do that around them.”

“I knew the others’ presence would bother you enough that you wouldn’t panic when I approach you,” Roman confirms, sending an annoyed glance while looking up. Janus follows his gaze and sees that Remus and Calamity have started to shape the clouds to make them look like… well, penises.

They both let out a small groan, annoyed. That is one thing they share at least.

“I— wasn’t going to tell them, by the way,” Janus confesses after a few beats of silence.

Roman sends him a look with a raised eyebrow. “Now say that again without your gloves.”

Janus blinks. “You do know they don’t actually prevent me from saying the truth, right?” The prince shrugs, nonchalantly, before a smile appears on his lips. “Oh my god, you were joking.”

“For someone who can detect lies easily, you’re very bad at catching sarcasm or jokes.”

“Yeah well, my mind’s preoccupied and shit.”

“I make you nervous!” Roman grins big. Janus gulps and blushes.

“You should not sound as happy as you do,” he huffs.

“You’d rather I think that was another one of your plans to manipulate me?” the prince rhetorically asks. “I also wanted to bring everyone else here because they calm me. I’m still mad at you, and I don’t trust you, doubt I ever will like I used to, but. It is kinda sweet how worried you were to talk to me.”

Roman giggles as Mari snuggles into his neck, distracting him for a moment. Janus huffs out a smile, watching fondly as the snake just keeps ticking the prince. She sure is more cuddly than he was disguised as “Sunny”. He did not feel like he quite deserved it even though he wanted to.

He gets distracted when Blanche suddenly flies his way and then sits on top of his head, one or two feathers falling in front of Janus’ eyes. He blinks, catching one of the feathers just as the dove coos, attracting Roman’s attention again.

“She likes you,” the prince says simply.

“And she loves you a lot too,” Janus replies, motioning to Mari.

They stare at each other for a few seconds before looking away simultaneously, awkward silence in the air now.

“Listen, uh,” Janus starts again, “I’m sorry. You don’t have to accept the apology and I know we need to… work out on this… trust thing. Ugh.” He kind of feels sick.

“Don’t look so close to puking,” Roman teases.

“It’s against me to be this honest for so long, shut up!”

To his surprise, Roman only giggles. The same sound he’s been hearing for weeks that he thought he would never get to hear again when he is not pretending to be a snake. Janus is pretty sure the human side of his face is still blushing as he waits for the prince to calm down.

“It was easier to be a snake and not say a thing, eh?” Roman asks, probably not actually expecting an answer because he continues, “I apologise too. Mocking your name was petty. Thought it was harmless but, butterfly effect and all that I guess.”

The prince sighs as he looks around, watching the others play with their animals with a sad glint in his eyes, particularly as they fall on Patton playing fetch with Goldie.

“For someone who’s so good at spotting love connections, you sure have trouble seeing how loved you still are, despite your fuck ups,” Janus whispers gently.

“I, unfortunately, have trust issues,” Roman responds and it should sound bitter since Janus is partly the reason for that, but instead, it is said on a light tone, surprising the deceitful side.

“We… we could work on that, together,” he suggests, hopeful, inviting, offering his hand just as Roman turns back around to face him.

Roman smiles fondly. “It would take a long goddamn time. You look distressed at the idea, are you really sure?”

“I’m mostly nervous you’re gonna say no, not about the prospect of rebuilding our relationship for everyone’s sake… but mostly for my own selfish intent.”

The prince perks up at that, smile widening ever so slightly except it isn’t soft, it’s mischievous now. Janus internally groans.

“And why is that?” Roman asks, sounding like a child.

“You’re really gonna make me say it?”

“You owe me that, yes.”

Janus’ hand is still awkwardly there in between them. He looks down at it for a few seconds before removing his glove swiftly. Roman dramatically gasps and he almost wants to slap him. Why must he be so extra even in such a serious conversation?

“I’ve missed you, alright? And perhaps I got too comfortable spending time with you as a snake. It was nice to just— admire you in your natural element again without any fear of being judged. I missed your smiles and laughs, and random songs you come up with on the fly. And I was scared that if I revealed the truth you’d just resent me even more and I’d never be able to witness you being you again, I was scared I just screw everything up with you. I just want you back.”

There is a small silence that lasts for a good minute without either of them speaking up again. Janus kind of feels the need to run away again but then, Roman grabs his hand in both of his, the warmth making his heart melt.

“You sure that glove isn’t preventing you from telling the truth because that is the first time I’ve seen you be this succinct with how you truly feel. Almost seemed out of character, _my dearest foe_.”

“Oh shut up.”

Roman laughs again. Janus smiles. It is a beginning. Or well, another beginning, he gathers.

He does not miss Virgil and Logan sending him suspicious glares from a distance, though.

**Author's Note:**

> I had no idea how to finish this, really. Random fact, I imagine Jannus with a British accent when I write? Even though Thomas absolutely does not use a British accent when he plays him lol
> 
> Anyway! Hope you enjoyed, here's my [tumblr](http://loveliestroman.tumblr.com/) again, don't hesitate to drop by!
> 
> Thank you for reading, dear, may our paths meet again x


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